Dr Tanveer Hussain

Senior Lecturer - School of Science and Technology

Phone: +61 (02) 6773 1563

Mobile: 0451635750

Biography

Dr Tanveer Hussain is a Senior Lecturer of Applied Physics in the discipline of Physics & Electronics at University of New England, Australia. His research career started at Dept. of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University, Sweden, where he completed his PhD degree in computational condensed matter physics (computational designs of clean energy storage materials). His PhD research led to the design of several new classes of nanomaterials for efficient energy storage applications.

Following that he spent one year at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, as Carl Tryggers Fellow, where he expanded his research expertise towards gas-sensing applications. In 2015, Tanveer was awarded UQ postdoctoral fellowship, to work at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland (UQ), where he explored the potentials of two-dimensional nanostructures as electrode materials for rechargeable batteries. Later on, Tanveer worked as senior researcher at the School of Molecular Science, at the University of Western Australia (2018-2020), and at School of Chemical Engineering at UQ (2020-2021).

Each of these institute strategically enabled him to expand his training in physics and material science and build a set of skills in computational material science and material physics/chemistry.

His research interests include computational design of functional materials for clean energy storage, such as (1) Hydrogen Storage, (2) Rechargeable Metal-Ion Batteries (3) Metal-Sulfur Batteries, and (4) Nano Sensors for environmental pollutants and the detection of various biomarkers for disease diagnostics.

Dr Tanveer’s research connects many fields, such as physics, chemistry, material science, nanotechnology, and biomedical sciences. We design novel functional materials for a diverse range of applications. Our current direction of research includes the rational design of functional materials for high-capacity hydrogen storage applications. We are equally interested in designing efficient electrode materials to enhance the performance of recharge batteries.

He further wants to design efficient nano sensors, which could be used in a variety of fields, such as environment cleanliness, early disease detections, and defence applications. He has enjoyed strong collaborations with theoretical and experimental groups around the globe.

Qualifications

PhD in Physics (Computational Condensed Matter Physics)

Awards

Australian Nanotechnology Travel Award

Vice Chancellor Travel Award (Uppsala University, Sweden)

Teaching Areas

PHYS100 Introductory Physics
PHYS131 Applied Physics 1
PHYS132 Applied Physics 2
PHYS204 Electromagnetism 1
PHYS213 Sensors and Signal Processing
PHYS301 Microscopic to Macroscopic Physics and Chemistry
SCI395 Scientific Report

Primary Research Area/s

Computational Material Science; Hydrogen Storage; Rechargeable Batteries; Gas Sensing

Research Interests

Hydrogen Storage

Hydrogen (H₂) is a promising energy carrier, possessing the highest energy content per mass among all the available options and it is environmentally friendly, emitting water upon its combustion. However, to commercialize the H₂ technologies, feasible and safe onboard H₂ storage systems are needed. The conventional technologies, such as liquefaction and gas compression, have many limitations, thus material-based H₂ storage systems will be an effective and safe alternative. We employ quantum mechanical simulations to design efficient H₂ storage materials by using,

Nanomaterials (1D, 2D)

Metal-Hydrides

Rechargeable Metal-Ion Batteries

Metal-ion batteries are considered one of the most viable technologies for the efficient storage of clean energy. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the front-runners among the metal-ion batteries due to the well-established technology, long-term cyclic stability, portability, and diverse range of applications from cell phones to electric automobiles. However, limited lithium reserves coupled with high costs limit the application of LIBs in the longer run, especially for large-scale energy storage. Thus, it is of interest to develop alternative and complimentary battery technologies, which would use sustainable resources and are cost effective.

Our research is focused on the design of electrode materials for

Sodium Ion Batteries

Potassium Ion Batteries

Magnesium Ion Batteries

Calcium Ion Batteries

Metal-Sulfur/Selenium Batteries

Metal-sulfur (metal-selenium) batteries have emerged as a promising energy storage technology for large-scale stationary applications such as smart electrical grids due to the exceptionally high energy density and cost-effectiveness. However, one of the challenging problems impeding their practical applications is capacity fading or lack or reversibility.

We tackle this challenge by designing efficient electrode additives, which help improve the battery life.

Our research focus includes,

Lithium-Sulfur & Lithium Selenium Batteries

Sodium-Sulfur Batteries

Potassium-Sulfur Batteries

Nano Sensors

Exposure to various pollutants poses a serious threat to the environment and to human health. World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that both indoor and outdoor pollution caused around 7 million premature deaths per year, which would be double by the year 2050. According to the BCC Research reports global, the sensor market is growing with an annual growth rate of 13.3% and is to expected to reach $323.3 billion by 2024.

In Australia alone, the estimated financial cost of premature deaths due to air pollution ranges from roughly $11 billion to $24 billion per year. To counter this serious situation, we are designing nano-sensors capable of detecting toxic pollutants efficiently. Our focus areas are,

Common Pollutants
Volatile Organic Compounds
Biomarkers Detection for Early Disease Diagnosis
Warfare Agents
Pesticide Capture

Research Grants

Thailand National Research Fund 2020: Basic Research Program
Funding Awarded: $24, 000 (Co-PI, 2020)
Project: Design of Lithium-free Metal-sulfur batteries
Thailand Royal Golden Jubilee Grant, Thailand Govt.
Funding Awarded: $62, 500 (Co-PI, 2018-2020)
Project: Lead-free Perovskite Solar Cells: Theory and experiment
Thailand Research Fund
Funding Awarded: $25, 000 (Co-PI, 2018-2019)
Project: Van der Waals Heterostructures based on Two-dimensional (2D) Materials
Nanotech Research Institute of Thailand
Funding Awarded: $16, 500 (Co-PI, 2018)
Project: Strain Engineering of Thermoelectric Capacities of Two-dimensional (2D) materials
The Development and Promotion of Science and Technology, Talent Project

Funding Awarded: $40, 000 (Co-PI, 2017-2020):

Project: Chemical Gas Sensing Based on Post-graphene Two-dimensional (2D) Materials.

Research Supervision Experience

7 years
5 PhD completions
2 Master completion
4 Undergraduate completion

Publications

Dr Tanveer has published more than 132 peer reviewed journal articles in reputed journals. Complete list of publications can be found here.

E. Anikina, S. R. Naqvi, H. Bae, H. Lee, W. Luo, R. Ahuja, Tanveer Hussain, High-capacity reversible hydrogen storage properties of metal-decorated nitrogenated holey graphenes. Int. J. Hyd. Energy doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.01.126 (2022)
M. K. Aslam, Tanveer Hussain, et al. Sulfur encapsulation into yolk-shell Fe2N@nitrogen doped carbon for ambient-temperature sodium-sulfur battery cathode. Chem. Engineering J. 2022, 429, 132389 doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.132389
Q. Yang, L. Li, Tanveer Hussain, et al. Stabilizing Interface pH by N-Modified Graphdiyne for Dendrite-Free and High-Rate Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries. Angew. Chem. 2022, 134, e202112304
P. Panigrahi, D. Acharya, S. Rathina Selvi, R. Ahuja, Tanveer Hussain, Enhancing energy storage efficiency of lithiated carbon nitride (C7N6) monolayers under co-adsorption of H2 and CH4. Int. J. Hyd. Energy 2021, 46, 19988-19997 doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.03.103
P. Panigrahi, Y. Pal, R. Ahuja, Tanveer Hussain, Exploring the Full Potential of Functional Si2BN Nanoribbons As Highly Reversible Anode Materials for Mg-Ion Battery. Energy & Fuels 2021, 35, 15, 12688–12699 doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c01770
T Kaewmaraya, L Ngamwongwan, P Moontragoon, W Jarernboon, Deobrat Singh, Rajeev Ahuja, A Karton, Tanveer Hussain, Novel green phosphorene as a superior chemical gas sensing material. J. Haz. Mater. 2021, 401, 123340 doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123340
S. S. Deshpande, M. D. Deshpande, K. Alhameedi, R. Ahuja, Tanveer Hussain, Carbon Nitride Monolayers as Efficient Immobilizers toward Lithium Selenides: Potential Applications in Lithium–Selenium Batteries. ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2021, 4, 4, 3891–3904. doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c00283
M. Boota, E. Jung, R. Ahuja, Tanveer Hussain, MXene binder stabilizes pseudocapacitance of conducting polymers. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2021, 9, 20356-20361. DOI: 10.1039/D1TA05861D
Tanveer Hussain, M. Sajjad, et al. Sensing of volatile organic compounds on two-dimensional nitrogenated holey graphene, graphdiyne, and their heterostructure. Carbon 2020, 163, 213-223. doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2020.02.078
Tanveer Hussain, D. J. Searles, M. Hankel, nsights into the trapping mechanism of light metals on C2N-h2D: Utilisation as an anode material for metal ion batteries. Carbon 2020, 160, 125-132 doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2019.12.063

Memberships

Australian Nanotechnology Network

Hydrogen Society of Australia

Consultancy Interests

Dr Tanveer has commitment to industry engagement. He has been engaged with defence science and technology group (DSTG) in gas-sensing domain. His research on hydrogen storage has great potential in attracting industry engagement.